Chapter 92 – Mother Dear
"Well, here we are!" Sselekk said as he stood in front of a massive stone building. One of his hands was on Image's shoulder, he had done this strictly for the look of force, he made sure he was gentle with his pushing but he wanted others to at least think he was escorting the Meltackian.
"This is where my sister is?" Image asked with hope, he knew no one else could hear him, it was natural for Meltackians to be able to control their communion. Sselekk simply nodded his confirmation. "I'm coming sister, just hold on a little longer."
Back at the garage Twilight looked around the space she was in. Her office was one of the many rooms that she had dedicated to research. Several filing cabinets were placed around the walls with a single desk full of papers. Her research consisted of anything she could find, from magazine articles to actual blueprints and spec sheets for certain parts as well as tips and tricks she had learned from other mechanics. She had never turned a wrench herself, but she could easily tell you what part would fit best with what engine, according to to manufacture recommendations. It was Writch and Blade that could tell you their own personal opinions and if a certain part actually works better in practice. Though she wasn't shy about asking them to teach her a few tricks of their own, they were usually busy. At the moment, however, she moved around the room, using her magic to lift and scan several documents in order to find the particular research she was looking for. She had kept it mostly organized, and she knew where everything was, but today, things seemed a bit off. With a growl, she found her frustration rising, "SPIKE!" she called out, and found the baby dragon nowhere to be found. "Ugh, probably out helping Rarity and Image again." she surmised and turned to exit the room, her head hung down in her frustration and the parchments of her research magically floating in a small pile next to her. She made her way down the hall, only a few doors in fact, and turned the corner, Rarity nearly running into her as she did.
"Oh, Twilight!" the refined pony greeted, "Whatever is the matter dearie?" Now that Twilight had gotten a good look at her, she could see a small streak of cyan paint on her cheek, a sign that she had been painting the Rainbow Trail MK.3.
"You haven't seen Spike, have you?" the princess asked.
"I'm afraid not." the white mare said, "And with Image traversing the nearby town for supplies, I'm afraid I'm not as far into the new paint as I would have liked." she then looked to Twilight, "You wouldn't happen to know where the white Armorim brand paint is, would you?"
Twilight simply shook her head, and then the words began to sink in, "Wait, Image isn't here?" she asked.
"No, I'm afraid." Rarity said as she turned to leave, "He said something about needing to run some errands."
"Do you think he took Spike with him?" Twilight asked, "I haven't seen him all day and I'm getting worried."
"Ah'm sorry." they heard Applejack say as they began their walk, "Did you say Spike and Image aren't here?"
"Yes." Twilight said in response and watched as a moment of realization struck Applejack.
"Land Sakes!" the orange pony said and placed her hoof to her nose in a frustrated groan, "Ah think Ah know where they went." These words caught the interest and confusion of both Twilight and Rarity.
Spike kept close to himself; his clawed fingers curled up in slight fear as he watched the other Suniks chat amongst themselves. They seemed to be friendly, but he wanted to make sure, other dragons weren't as friendly as they once seemed to him. He briefly heard laughter right before he walked into the back of Sselekk's leg, only to peek from behind him and get a peek at a group of suniks, young and thin, wearing raggedy clothes and wild hair. "Look who we have here!" the one up front said. His cocky attitude and taunting tone reminded Spike of a dragon named Garble. "The little lightbulb is back to play."
"Then I guess that makes me the maintenance worker!" Sselekk said sternly. The group turned to him; the stare he gave could have killed the younger ones. "Slink Off!" he said, a rude Sunik term for walking away in either embarrassment or shame.
The leader then scoffed at the larger Sunik, "Whatever." he said, and circled around the small group, "Come on guys." he said disgruntled, "We got better things to do."
The rest of them followed his lead, and only one, the last and the youngest turned back and bowed, "Sorry." was all he said, and quickly heard the leader of the group call his name.
"Kklip, hurry up!" he said in irritation.
"Uh, coming, Sskrit!" Kklip said and turned to run towards the retreating group.
Sselekk shook his head, "Those kids." he said, "Kklip's not a bad kid, just stuck with the wrong group."
"Image, are they the ones that beat you up last time?" Spike asked.
"Yes." Image said, "They are, though they did not have the one called Kklip with them that time."
"Poor kid just moved here a few years ago." Sselekk said with a bit of sorrow, "I've tried talking to him but Sskrit and his group are never far from him. I didn't know they were military kids though, seems like they might be getting too big for their scales."
"Where is my sister?" Image asked, they could feel the excitement in his words yet he somehow kept his voice stable.
"Dungeon last I saw her." the large Sunik whispered, "She was given a somewhat comfortable environment, plus I made sure she was being taken care of, made the argument that we'd lose a valuable inside advantage."
"I am…unsure how she will respond when she sees me." the Meltackian said.
"Hey, Sselekk!" they heard from the side. They had quickly closed the gap from the entrance of the fort to the actual building much quicker than they had thought, their distractions keeping them occupied along the way. There next to the door, stood a rather large female Sunik, one slightly shorter than Sselekk but tall nonetheless. Thanks to the robes that sparkled white and gold, she had an air of sophistication.
"What's the People's Voice doing here?" he asked himself.
"That's the People's Voice?" Spike asked in surprise, "She's kinda pretty." She had long silver hair that draped down to the middle of her back, loose curls decorating the strands in a magnificent way. In fact, it reminded him of Rarity's hair as well as Fluttershy's, the long flowing and yet curled locks seemed to both hide her face and frame it at the same time.
"Welcome back from your mission son!" she said as she got closer.
Both Image and Spike stopped in shock as they realized and tried to process what she had just said, "SON?" Image asked in shock.
"Mother…" the large Sunik groaned as he placed his hand to his face in embarrassment.
"No need to be embarrassed." she said as turned to the other two, "Who are your friends?"
"Not 'friends' mother." he groaned, "Prisoner…" he pointed at Image then pointed to Spike, "…and recruit."
"She looks WAY too young to be your mother." Spike said suddenly.
Sselekk's mother then giggled, "Why, thank you for the compliment young one."
"Why didn't you say your mother was the People's Voice?" Spike asked.
"Not really allowed to." he said calmly, "If I just started bragging like that it would put my mother in danger, and no matter how many times she embarrasses me…" he said and then wrapped his mother in an enormous hug, "…that is something I'd never wish for."
"Oh!" she said in her surprise, and then returned the embrace, "It's been so long since we've been mother and son." When they broke the embrace, she looked to the baby dragon, "Unfortunately Sselekk is correct, I'd be targeted for several reasons, mostly so that they could get back at the new Chamber Master, or even by the Chamber Master himself to make sure I can no longer take the emperor's ear from him."
"My mother is really good at getting others to see the pain they cause," he told them, "But, the New Chamber Master's only goal seems to be to keep the emperor from seeing the outside world."
"And you used to be a willing participant in that endeavor?" Image asked. Sselekk only nodded.
"I'm glad to see your old commander's influence on you is starting to fade." his mother said, "Now others can finally see the boy I truly raised."
"Mother…" he groaned again, "…not in front of the recruit." To this, Spike and Image once again chuckled, and slowly Sselekk and his mother both joined in the laughter.